After RF Industries (RFIL) reported first quarter financial results after the market close on Tuesday, shares rose over 31% in after-hours trading. The company reported Q1 EPS of 5c versus a loss of (2c) in Q1 of last year. Net sales for Q1, typically the company’s seasonally weakest quarter, increased 56% to $10.3M compared to $6.6M in Q1 of last year. Gross profit for Q1 increased 65% to $3.1M from $1.9M, and improved to 30% of sales from 28% of sales in the same quarter last year due primarily to the increased revenues at the Custom Cabling segment. CEO COMMENTARY: “In the first quarter we executed well on our long-term growth initiatives which provided a strong start to Fiscal 2018. We drove increased sales at all divisions over Q1 last year and controlled costs, allowing us to deliver improved margins and profitability. As I discussed at the end of Q4, we are building a culture of positive energy and accountability where we leverage the correct channels and invest in the necessary resources to address the needs of the market. These new go-to-market strategies and channel models are working with higher sales and bookings across all divisions in Q1. These increases helped us raise our January 31, 2018 backlog to $20.2M, compared to $4M at October 31, 2017. We continue to build momentum and while we are cautiously optimistic about the rest of year, we do expect our current backlog to power significant growth in net sales for the fiscal second quarter ending April 30, 2018, compared to the same quarter last year,” said RF Industries CEO Robert Dawson. PRICE ACTION: Shares of RF Industries are up 31.88% or $1.10 per share, in after-hours trading.